Ms Elder's Grade 4/5 Class

Yesterday, we were fortunate to be invited to do the Mobile Escape Room that the Grade 5/6's had organized. In groups of 5-6, we worked our way through the four centres that Logan and Mark of the Mobile Escape Room had set up for us.  There was an underwater submarine, a pharaoh's tomb, a time machine, and a puzzle-making station.  We had to use teamwork to figure out clues, solve puzzles, and piece information together to escape. Here are a few pics of us in action! Trying to Unlock the Submarine Door! Switches On and Off Types of Codes Creating a puzzle for the next team to solve Exploring the Time Machine You might think this was all fun and games, but actually, there were a lot of science connections from our learning this year:  "We learned about simple machines this year and these escape rooms and escape objects had a lot of simple machines in them, like in the time machine where there were gears." ~ Vance "They used simple machines in the tomb of pharaohs ...

  We had a fabulous day yesterday at Ralph Klein Park. The weather was outstanding and the surroundings were beautiful. We had top-notch programming led by Chelsea from the City of Calgary. Here are some highlights of our learning and photos of the day. In the morning, Chelsea asked us to tell her what a wetland is, what the parts of a wetland are (there are submerged plants, emerged plants and floating plants), and which different wetlands are found in Alberta (marsh, swamp, fen, bog). Some of this was review of what we learned in the fall and some was new information. Then, we played a game where we had wetland creatures taped to our backs and we had to ask Yes-No questions to figure out who we were.  That led us to talking about specific wetland invertebrates and their interesting adaptations. We played a simile game where we had items in a bag that were like a creature. We had to figure out what each item represented and share that with the class.  A box of wood chip...

"I liked when we did the tug-of-war because it was with an actual rope, not a skipping rope, and it was fun because we weren't doing it on concrete so if we fell it didn't hurt." ~ Callie Lost Letters game "Kamp Kiwanis was fun because they literally let us run around in the woods. The Energy Game was really fun. We had 3 lives." ~ Lillian "I liked archery because it was super fun being able to express your emotions trying to shoot the targets. It was super fun being able to do that." ~ Seb K "I liked archery a lot because we got the freedom of shooting things at target. It wasn't at all like the idea I had in my mind where we all got our own $200 bows. It was a lot of fun but I wished we got more turns." ~ Lawrence "I thought the Energy Game was really fun because you got to go out into the wild and experience being an animal or a plant or a hurricane." ~ Hazel "I thought the Energy Game was really fun because at first...

Science: I can explore household substances; I can use the scientific method to answer a question: I can design a fair test. In class, we have been learning about Chemistry and Matter. This week, we have been learning about physical and chemical changes. A Chemical Change is when there's a change that creates something new and a Physical Change is when its appearance changes but it's still the same substance.  Five clues that a chemical change has happened are:  Bubbles form  Heat is released Light is produced There is a colour change A smell is produced An example of a Physical Change would be changing States of Matter: An ice cube melting to water Yesterday, we put baking soda in a balloon and mixed it with vinegar to see what would happen. The balloons inflated. It was fun to watch them. When you mix baking soda and vinegar, it creates carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. They expanded because of the increase in carbon dioxide gas. We know the molecules, when they turn int...

Students, this is a reminder that you will have a Chemistry Quiz on Wednesday next week. Today, you took home this outline sheet. It is optional if you would like to practice or review your vocabulary so that you feel prepared. I would also recommend looking through the Lesson Slides and links posted in the Google Classroom under "Classwork" -> "Science". Quiz Date: Wednesday, April 27 I Can Statements:  I can recognize and give examples of the three states of matter.  I can understand the difference between a reversible and irreversible change. I can explain the difference between a homogeneous and heterogeneous mixture. I can apply an understanding of separating mixtures to solve a problem. I can explain what a solution is and how to separate one.  I can describe surface tension. I can describe how to identify a physical and chemical change. 

We made huge beads of water on coins! Science: I can experiment with household items; I can explore surface tension Today, Ms Dool taught us about water. We learned how water molecules "attract" to each other. We can see this at home when water beads when dropped onto a surface or how water beads combine on a windshield when it's raining. Water has a "skin" on top of it that holds it together, almost seeming like a magnetic force.  We were given time to experiment with water. We used materials like cups, eye droppers, coins, paper clips, and, of course, water! Here are some things we observed:  "When water lands carefully, it makes small beads." ~ Suzi "When you have the small bead of water and you drop a paper clip or coin into it, it will take the shape of the item that you dropped in and will go around it." ~ Callie "My group noticed that we made a mixture of coins and dropped it into a cup to make it full. We figured out that we can ...

Science: I can test a variety of household materials; I can use the Scientific method to test a question Today, Ms Dool led an experiment on testing solutions. We reviewed the vocabulary words: solution , solute , and solvent . ( Click here to watch this video to review what a Solution is ).  We made predictions for which solutes would or would not dissolve, then we recorded our observations in a chart (see the Google Classroom to see our chart). We were even able to use science vocabulary words from earlier in the year: transparent and transluscent .  You may wish to try this experiment at home with your family (ask for parent permission first!).

Science: I can explore parts of a plant and how different plants need different things to survive; I can develop classification skills; I can explain the relationship between plants and humans French: I can develop vocabulary (animals) Yesterday, we had a zoo-tastic field trip to the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. We took part in a program about plants that directly relates to our Science curriculum. Today, we recounted the day and students showed their learning using pictures and words in their visual journals. Here are some student learning quotes:  The Devil's Tongue "We were lucky to be there on the day the Devil's Tongue bloomed because it only blooms once a year! It smelled like something that was rotting. What made it smell awful was a chemical compound called putrescine. But what insect would pollinate this flower? Well, it's the decomposer, of course!" ~ Hazel Why do we care about plants?  "They help us live and help filter our water." ~ Hazel ...

Science: I can test a variety of household materials; I can investigate the states of matter. Today, Ms Dool lead us in our first Chemistry experiment! We have learned so far about the states of matter , reversible and i rreversible changes , and different types of mixtures ( homogeneous and heterogeneous ). Today, we got to make mixtures and then use different tools to try to separate them.  Each group was given a category of mixtures (solid & solid, liquid & liquid, or liquid & solid). We got to choose the materials from a whole pile that Ms Dool had (like jello powder, blocks, screws, dirt, milk, gatorade, etc). Then, we could choose our tool to try to separate (like a sieve, magnet, coffee filter, or other liquids).  "We had soap and milk. When we stirred it, they mixed it. The soap kind of 'took over' the milk; it turned orange. We tried to separate it with the eye dropper and the milk got sucked up easily." ~ Lillian "We made a mixture of vege...

Today, we shared our Amusement Rides with Ms Rowland's Grade 1/2 class. Here are some photos; they said they loved it!  There is a video of a few students in our class sharing their rides in our Google Classroom. Check it out! :)